Crossing the border in Myanmar

I will be honest when I had decided to go to Myanmar I really didn’t know what was happening and didn’t research it enough. I had planned it as part of my adventure through Asia. All I was really excited about, was going to Bagan. I had only discovered what was happening when I was speaking to the other backpackers. The question I ask myself now is do I regret going? And the answer is no but I do regret going and not knowing about what the people of Myanmar were suffering from. I do regret going in as an ignorant person.

I crossed the bridge into Myanmar and was surrounded by taxi’s and I found some fellow travellers that were heading to Hpa-An. We managed to find a taxi that would take us all the way there. It was a very bumpy ride, but we got there in the end. I remember during the ride after the sun had set, I started smelling whiffs of incense and I was overcome by an overwhelming yearning to go back to India. Parts of Myanmar reminded me so much of India.

I didn’t have any definite plans when it came to Myanmar and I am not sure when I had decided to head to Kawlaw and do the three-day trek but I am so glad that I did.  I took a bus to Kawlaw, got dropped off at the corner of some random street and immediately started looking for a place to stay. I finally found one. After that I was on a mission to find a great hiking company. I walked around a few places and found one that seemed like the energy was good. Signed up and was told we would meet our guide in the morning. I was really excited, I found a Nepali restaurant, oddly enough and had dinner there.

In the morning I got my bags and headed to the meeting place. I dropped off my large backpack with the company because they were going drop it off when we reached the end of the trek. We were a group of four guided by a lovely lady.  During the hike we asked her what made her decide to became a guide. She told us to become a guide, she had to be fluent in English which meant she had to travel to the main city to study English. Her biggest challenge was raising the funds to do this. To raise the money, she had to sell the ring that her mother had gifted her, a family heirloom.  So she did and got to complete her studies. After she had gotten a job as a guide, saved some money, she was able to buy her family ring back. The owner had kept it aside and not sold it.

 We started off on a trek, I was unfit and trailed behind the group most of the time. One of our rest points was our guide’s home. She cooked a delicious lunch from the vegetables in the garden. We had passed her mom working in the field but her dad was home, so we had lunch with him. We trekked a bit more and reached Pa-O village which would be our resting point for the night. We decided to take a walk around the village. It was so calm and peaceful. As we walked I saw a beautiful women who was working in her garden and I am grateful she allowed me to take a picture of her wearing the tradition Pa-O head scarf. Unconsciously I was falling more and more in love with portrait photography. 

The Woman in the Village. Myanmar 2019.

Tending Her Garden, Myanmar 2019.

We continued on our trek the next morning. The views along the way were sensational but the bison were scary, apparently sometimes they would act up because they could smell that there were outsiders walking past. We met up with another group and we all continued to the monastery. When we arrived, some of us that still had energy climbed up a short hill to watch the sunset where I took the picture of the young monk. We shared another great meal and headed to bed. Tomorrow was the last day and hardest, our feet seemed to give in and we were exhausted. We finally got to the dock, had lunch and were re-united with our bags. We jumped onto the boat, crossed Inle Lake and ended up in Nyaung Shwe. We all ended up heading to the same hostel.

Young Boy Monk. Myanmar 2019.

We were all sitting and playing cards. During the trek, I had heard so much about these two cool Brazilian brothers. So, when these two guys with dreadlocks, who sounded very Russian to me, showed up, I didn’t think it was them. Gustavo one of the brothers came and sat next to me and we played a card game. I remember liking him instantly and feeling sense of ease. Another person I met on the trip that I instantly felt connected to. Such great energy. I would meet Gustavo throughout different parts of the journey. Our objections were different so I would distance myself from him, from time to time.

At the hostel, I had seen that they offered a morning Inle Lake boat trip. It was a very hard decision for me but my need to capture the fishermen was stronger. It was a catch 22 because I knew that they were performing and not fishing but my rational was that the performance itself, was art. I spent a few more days in Nyaung Shwe, walked the streets taking some pictures but it was time to move on.

The Performance. Myanmar 2019.

I headed off to Bagan, one of the most beautiful places I have been to. The best sunrise I have ever seen in my life. We once, and I am not sure if I should mention this, climbed up one of the monuments, which is not allowed. I was with the adventurous kids, so I went along with it. We climbed and watched the sunrise. We sat there watching hot air balloons taking off from the ground that was still covered by the mist and saw bright green birds fly past us. There was this incredible sense of stillness. I remember thinking should I take a picture or be in in the moment, I chose the latter. It is a memory that will be permanently stamped in my brain, enveloped by a magical feeling.

 After that experience things went south, I lost my phone and bank card. I had to buy a new phone while trying to figure out what to do about my bank card but luckily I still had my travel card which helped. What suffered though was my overall enthusiasm for my surroundings. Everything felt difficult and hard.

 I moved on and went to Loas and Cambodia. I have not included the images from Laos and Cambodia because I had, what I would call, a photography block. I liked Loas but I spent most of my time in my head. I was thinking about a boy I had a crush on most of the time, concentrated on volunteering a bit and the other places I went to, I didn’t really feel inspired.

After Loas I travelled to Cambodia, which I didn’t like at all. I tried so hard to change my mindset but it didn’t work. I found Cambodia extremely seedy and very expensive, which didn’t make any sense. There was this heaviness to it. I don’t know if it was due to its past or the sexual tourism component or the drug element. It just felt off, heavy and mentally dirty. I finally left and headed to Vietnam.